"Till"

That was Phoebe on our back doorstep this afternoon. Wellies on, Monty the Sloth by her side and a bag of "Pom-Bears" in her hand. On the bench a choice of milk or water. What could be better?

Tonight I was in the mood for a good film. On Amazon Prime, I was delighted to find "Till" - released just last year and telling the true story of Emmett Till - a fourteen year old Chicago boy who was murdered in Mississippi in  1955. It was a very famous case in the continuing struggle for racial equality in America.

To a large extent, the film isn't really about Emmett, it's more about his mother Mamie Till who reluctantly became a fierce champion for civil rights. Her part is played beautifully by Danielle Deadwyler.

She insisted that her son's body should be brought back to Chicago. It was swollen and corrupted and yet she insisted on time alone with his remains. It was a very moving and tender scene.

Later in the county court in Mound Bayou,Mississippi the defending lawyer raised doubts that the body that was found in the Talahatchie River even belonged to Emmett. However, in a moving testimony, Mamie  insisted that as his mother she knew every inch of his body. Naturally, the white killers were let off by the all-white jury, taking less than an hour to reach their verdict.

I guess it depends on what you seek in films but I thoroughly enjoyed "Till" and am very happy to recommend it. A small part was played by Whoopi Goldberg as Emmett's grandmother. Finally, I might ask - why did it take so long for Emmett's story to reach the silverscreen?

Emmett Till and his mother Mamie

from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/pIofDuV